Taking a rest

It has been a month since I was last climbing, each weekend since then has been taken up with domestic duties and then a very quick trip back to the UK to see the folks.  This climbing session, to the place where the crate comes out, would not have happened if I hadn’t cut my trip back to the UK short.  My reasons for heading back home sooner than planned may have been an overreaction to the impending pandemic, but I just didn’t fancy getting stuck in quarantine somewhere on the way back:

So with a few extra days at home before work started I thought it was high time to catch up with Steve and see how he was faring.  How better to do that than to meet up at Welly Dam, for a climb, cuppa and a bit of banter.  We took a relaxed pace and started the session off with a leisurely stroll up Barbie Q, the climb that always seems like a warm up but probably is a little too feisty.  Today proved that once more, and no doubt the same mistake will happen again in the future.  This time I blamed the Popeye forearms I had at the top of the route to my jet lag:

It was a mixed day, drizzle sprinkled the windscreen of the car as I drove up the hill towards the dam.  As I got closer the roads had that mottled look after it had rained but not fully dried.  The sky was a mixture of ominous looking clouds and brilliant blue patches.  This along with the lush green of the lawn and deciduous trees made it feel like I was still in the UK.  The drizzle threatened but never came down on us, nor did the humidity rise.  So the rock was in perfect condition:

Steve was keen to jump on his old friend Murky Corner, and being just that little bit jet lagged I felt the need to sit down on the job as I belayed him.  A handy tri-nut placement at the base of the corner helped make this more sensible, although others may not agree with my thinking on that.  For those who have followed Steve’s journey over the last six or so months he is getting to the end of it, with the final surgery coming up soon.  He did not want to do anything that might result in needing to postpone it, so he played it safe and climbed with extra caution:

He was taking his time, with no sudden or rushed movements and checking each position and hold.  In so doing he managed to find yet another way to climb the corner direct, which provided a more secure and solid sequence, one you are less likely to come flying off from.  He also topped out, as opposed to using the lower-off bolts, proving an extra few meters of fine climbing.  All this with a pack on his back, as nature was calling meaning a trip to the upper carpark:

So as he went off to sort that out I walked back down made a cuppa and set us up for the next route.  After how I fared on Barbie Q I wasn’t too sure what to jump on, but we had at the start of the session talked about A Walk in Central Park.  A route with a crux sequence that has slopey holds leading in a fingery section.  Um maybe not the right choice I thought, but I went up it in the best style I can remember.  I was rewarded with one of the those very, very, very satisfying moments as I looked back down:

Steve managed to get up in good style, considering he still hasn’t regained sensation in all of his extremities.  The residues of chemo still lingering in his body being the cause for that and also cuts on some fingers that simply won’t heal.  He came back down pumped and weary, and as such also deciding not to lead any more.  Who is this calm and sensible Steve that I was climbing with, and will he still be around after he has healed from the last operation?!  So I jumped on Welcome to Edges, as we needed to do another route to let the tea cool down:

Steve managed to work his way up Edges and I showed him the alternate left-hand finish, which takes the bite out of the finale of the climb.  The section that scares many people, as their arms start to tire.  After that line he was toasted, so we sat and enjoyed the cuppa I’d made earlier.  We had yet to see anyone else, usually on a long weekend families would be making breakfast on the BBQs and kids would be running about screaming but not today.  Today the only noise was the wind and the Red-tailed Black Cockatoos, bliss:

Steve was done but offered to belay me for a route or two if I wanted, so I took him up on the offer and scooted up Ebonie Road.  At the top I pondered that this was route number five, but I didn’t fancy leading another line.  So I decided to down climb it, not with a top rope but reversing the lead.  It proved trickier than the ascent and I had to rest on one section, and I’d be interested to know if anyone can guess which section.  It was a great morning out and hopefully Steve can get out one more time before his operation: